Hockey is a sport which is played in North America and Europe. Shin guards are essential for protection and safe play, particularly for children.
There are numerous models and types of shin guards available to fit all sizes of players, including the shin guards described in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ 2,325,321 Hubner et al.; 3,135,964 Pender; 3,735,419 Byrd; 3,761,960 Woodcock; 4,751,748 Ekins; and 4,999,847 Barcelo. ______________________________________
In each of the shin guards described in these patents, the knee pad is hinged or attached to the shin portion. The size of the shin guard is set by the manufacturer, normally by making the shin guard in small, medium and large sizes. The sizes cannot be varied by the wearer.
The models available for children are usually smaller versions of the adult sized models. Since a child will grow not only from year to year but during the hockey season, it becomes increasingly difficult and expensive to outfit a child for multiple seasons of hockey.